One of the hardest things with using the iPad in the classroom is finding the time to go through all of the apps in the iTunes Store listed under the education banner. We have started to list some of the apps we've found under each of the Key Learning Areas.

Pages

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Using Speech to Text Apps on your iPad

There are a number of apps that are available that let you record your voice in order to convert it to text. I find this helpful when I need to transcribe longer pieces or even if I need to transcribe multiple entries. This technology is not yet perfect but it has improved considerably since these apps first came on the market. The first time I tried these app I got about 30% of the words correct, that figure is now more like 85% and with some effort on your part can be as high as 95%. Even with the minor inconsistencies it is still a quicker way for me to do larger pieces of text. I find these good when I want to just get the text down for a piece that I will spend some time formatting later. These are great for students as well, especially those kids who display great verbal intelligence but struggle with the written word.

Voice to Text Apps

Dragon Dictation: FREE

Dragon Dictation is an easy-to-use voice recognition that allows you to easily speak and instantly see your text or email messages. In fact, it’s up to five (5) times faster than typing on the keyboard. Dragon Dictation will also utilize the data in spoken messages collected over time to continuously improve and provide high speech recognition accuracy. This app is getting better all the time.

QuickVoice for the iPhone is ideal for capturing ideas, voice memos, dictation, classes, meetings, even entire lectures and seminars! Ideal for professional, educational, and personal use. Powered by SpinVox it is ideal for sending TEXT EMAILS using just voice and a few touches - No Typing Required. Very easy to use tap and record. Free version - recordings for up to 30 seconds. I like this.

"Speech Notes is a note taking app that can convert speech with the help of internet connection. Just tap on mic button and once done hit again to start converting voice to text." Collect all your dictated and written notes in one place. More to that with just one button click you may easily transform your speech into human readable text.

What if we are to tell you that you have not “activated” your voice yet? Experience the fastest messaging on iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch! TalkBox is sending messages with your voice and now with text input support!. It’s an application dedicated to getting your messages across FAST with no boundary! Try out the app during this time-limited free offer!

For those people who do not have an iPhone 4S but would like some of the Siri features - here are a couple of alternatives.

Vlingo - Voice App: FREE

Looking for Siri-like functionality on your iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4? Look no further. Vlingo even goes beyond the new Siri Assistant by integrating with your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Plus all functionality, including sms and email, is now completely free. Vlingo is your very own Virtual Assistant. Simply speak to Vlingo and it will help you get more done, faster and easier than before

Control your phone through speech commands. Voice Actions allows a multitude of simple actions to be performed by voice command. These include, sending emails by voice, setting alarms and reminders, searching by voice, listen to specific music, voicedial your contacts or get instant translations. You can even search news, images, videos, and places and much more just by using your voice!

The new Google Search app for iPhone and iPad. Search the web faster and easier with the latest Search app from Google. Completely redesigned for the iPad. Voice Search: Search by voice and skip the typing. Look for the microphone icon. Quick access to other Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Docs. This is lots of fun - kids will love this!

13 comments:

Wow! I've heard of Dragon, but the others are ones that are new to me. The concept of voice to text is a great idea. Though you mentioned it is about 85% accurate, the future for it is great. I know that speaking my text messages is a lot easier than having my fat fingers fumble around on those little keyboards. And these apps would be even more appropriate for notes or even the longer docs like you mentioned.

Glad to read your post. I think voice recognition is the best technology for iPhone4S users. These apps are really helpful to us in routine life because we could not type on the type pad and we speak on the apps and they search instantly.

Is there an app that you can use when you aren't near a WIFI connection. I'm looking for one that a deaf person out for a walk could use to communicate with others, or when they go into a business that doesn't have WIFI.